Buying guide
Olympic barbell guide
The bar is the piece everything else plugs into. Lift Sets lists Olympic 2-inch (50 mm) rotating sleeves on the straight bars, the EZ curl bar and the hex trap bar. Plates from the weight plates collection fit these sleeves; 1-inch standard plates are not sold here. Read this alongside the Olympic weight plate guide if you are buying both in one order. Prices are shown on each product page.
Straight Olympic bars
The Olympic 2-inch barbell is sold as bar and clips in four lengths, each in black or silver:
- 4ft barbell and clips
- 5ft barbell and clips
- 6ft barbell and clips
- 7ft barbell and clips
The shaft has knurled grip zones with standard reference marks. Black and silver finishes are listed, with rotating sleeves on a straight bar. A 4ft bar is the length for a spare room that cannot take a 7ft bar from wall to wall. A 7ft bar is the length the adjustable squat and bench press rack stand is designed around; it is also the bar you put in a four-post cage. 5ft and 6ft sit between those two constraints. Choose by length and by the space you have.
EZ curl bar
The 47-inch Olympic EZ curl bar is listed in black or silver. The cambered W-shape puts the forearm into semi-supination, which takes strain off the wrist and elbow during curls and triceps extensions. It uses the same 2-inch rotating sleeves as the straight bars, so Olympic plates and collars interchange. At 47 inches it lives in the same footprint as a 4ft straight bar and is the bar to add once pressing and pulling are already covered.
Hex trap bar
Standing inside the hexagonal frame of the Olympic hex trap bar 2 puts the load in line with your centre of mass, which shortens the moment arm on the lower back and makes heavy pulling available to people who cannot comfortably straight-bar deadlift. Neutral parallel handles reduce shoulder and wrist strain compared with a pronated straight-bar pull. The bar is a chrome hexagonal frame with sleeves at each end; spring collars are shown with it. Use it where deadlifts are the priority and a straight 7ft bar feels like the wrong tool.
Collars
Spring collars and lever collars both fit Olympic 2-inch (50 mm) sleeves. Olympic 2-inch spring collars are sprung steel, one-handed squeeze-and-slide, the fast option for changing plates. Olympic barbell collars 2-inch are lever-locking, listed in red and black, for the clamping force needed on heavy squats and any lift where the bar takes impact. Both live in bars and clips with the bars themselves, and in barbells for the straight and trap options.
Which bar for which room
Measure the wall-to-wall gap, then the rack. If a 7ft bar will not turn in the room, start with 4ft or 5ft. If you already have, or plan to buy, the squat and bench press rack stand or the G100 Power Rack, budget for the 7ft bar those uprights expect. Add the EZ bar for arm work without changing the room layout. Add the trap bar when pulling is limited by a straight bar, not by space. Free standard delivery to Great Britain (Scottish Highlands and Islands included) applies on every order, including the 7ft bar and the trap bar. To work out what a loaded bar weighs and which plates to put on each side, open the plate-loading calculator; it uses the plate sizes listed here.
More questions
Is there a plate-loading calculator?
Yes. Type the weight you want, choose your bar weight (a full-size 7 ft Olympic bar is usually 20 kg; the Lift Sets 7 ft bar is 17 kg, so use the figure on your listing) and tick the plate sizes you own, and the calculator lists the plates per side and draws the bar. It works for hex and EZ bars if you enter that bar's weight.
How much does your 7 ft Olympic bar weigh?
17 kg, not the 20 kg many lifters assume for a full-length bar; the 6 ft bar is 15 kg, the 5 ft bar 12 kg and the 4 ft bar 8 kg. Use the listed figure when you set the bar weight in the plate-loading calculator.
How long are the sleeves on each Olympic barbell length?
Loadable sleeve length is 39 cm on the 7 ft bar (213 cm overall, 135 cm shaft), 28 cm on the 6 ft (183 cm overall), 25 cm on the 5 ft (152.5 cm) and 18 cm on the 4 ft (122 cm). Thin cast iron plates put the most weight on a short sleeve; rubber-coated and bumper plates use more sleeve per kilogram.
Do I need a 7 ft bar for a power rack?
Yes. Rack work needs a bar long enough to span the J-hooks, which a 4 ft bar cannot do; the 7 ft Olympic bar is the length the G100 Power Rack and the adjustable squat and bench press rack stand expect. Shorter bars are for floor, bench and accessory work.
When should I buy an EZ curl bar?
Once pressing and pulling are already covered by a straight bar. The 47-inch Olympic EZ curl bar has a cambered W-shape that puts the forearm into semi-supination, taking strain off the wrist and elbow during curls and triceps extensions, and it uses the same 2-inch rotating sleeves so Olympic plates and collars interchange. It lives in the same footprint as a 4 ft straight bar.
When is a hex trap bar the right choice?
When deadlifts are the priority and a straight bar feels like the wrong tool: standing inside the hexagonal frame puts the load in line with your centre of mass, shortening the moment arm on the lower back, and the neutral handles reduce shoulder and wrist strain. It uses Olympic 2-inch sleeves so your existing plates fit.
Spring collars or lever collars?
Both fit Olympic 2-inch (50 mm) sleeves. Spring collars are sprung steel with a one-handed squeeze-and-slide, the fast option for changing plates; lever-locking collars give the clamping force needed on heavy squats and any lift where the bar takes impact. The Olympic 2" Barbell ships with a pair of spring collars.